School Bus & Public Carrier Accident
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"Here are six steps we take to help you learn more about your school bus/public carrier vehicle crash case. In this type of case, federal and state regulations impose special requirements. Failure to follow these requirements can lose the case. And, these cases are heavily bureaucratic. Assisting me are four full-time paralegals who average 14+ years of experience. We know the regulations, the experts, and how to cut through the bureaucracy (most of the time). I would be honored to represent you, and share what I have learned over 25+ years.” Mike Burman, Attorney at Law.
- 1 - Go to the scene ASAP: Small pieces of evidence can become big facts.
- 2 - Interview witnesses and law enforcement: Our retired police detective carefully interviews witnesses. I often conduct interviews with key witnesses myself. You have to be careful that the investigating officers did not show any favoritism to the government vehicle driver.
- 3 - Secure photographs, video, and the “black box”: Closed circuit Tv and video monitoring are usually erased in a week. I need to get on top of this evidence quickly before it is lost forever. “Black box” computers inside the vehicles need to be downloaded before a vehicle is crushed or repaired.
- 4 - Preserve evidence known only to the trucker and the trucking company: I cannot tell you how many times crucial information or documentation from a trucker or trucking company helps a case after I took the proper steps to preserve that evidence.
- 5 - Provide you a free Case Evaluation: The Case Evaluation addresses your concerns and helps you understand what your case is about. How much time will the case take? What compensation is recoverable? Questions like these are handled in the Case Evaluation.
- 6 - Provide you with a Plan of Action customized for your needs: When you hire me, I will take the Case Evaluation and write up a customized Plan of Action with easy-to-follow steps for a good start to your case. The Plan of Action is uploaded to your free Burman Law Client Portal (we’ll open the client portal on your smartphone). Or, if you don’t want to use the Client Portal, we can mail it to you. You need no money to hire me. My fees are in writing (I am cheaper than most competitors).
“My staff is knowledgeable and easy to work with. We keep you updated about your case. You will have no trouble reaching me when you need my help or have a question.” Mike Burman
About RedStone Law
RedStone Law is about building relationships with clients for life. We provide affordable legal services in Tennessee & Kentucky with a focus in Auto Accidents. The team at RedStone law brings over 25 years of experience helping hundreds of accident victims against at-fault drivers and commercial operators of all types.
HOW DOES BURMAN LAW DETERMINE FAULT FOR A SCHOOL BUS OR PUBLIC CARRIER CASE?
Every driver has a duty to exercise for the safety of other persons using the highway. We investigate and prove fault by motorists who:
- Fail to maintain a safe distance
- Fail to slow to a safe speed
- Fail to allow time for safe clearance
- Fail to obey traffic signals (i.e., red lights or stop signs)
- Fail to keep a proper lookout for pedestrian traffic
- Fail to pay attention, especially at night or during inclement weather
- Fail to perceive a dangerous condition or immediate hazard
- Fail to drive free of impairment by drugs or alcohol
- Fail to stop operating a cell phone while operating a bus or public carrier bus
HOW DOES BURMAN LAW DETERMINE FAULT FOR A SCHOOL BUS OR PUBLIC CARRIER CASE?
School bus or public carrier personal injury and death cases require quick attention from an experienced personal injury law firm. Mike Burman is a personal injury attorney with the staff and financial resources needed to take on any insurance company. As your public transportation accident attorney, Mike Burman and his law firm will work quickly to:
- Understand the mechanism of injury causing pain and suffering or death
- Look for hard-to-find injuries, such as brain injuries or labral tears in the hip
- Preserve evidence that could be washed away, destroyed, or lost
- Study traffic patterns and traffic
- Search for CCTv video/audio, ring doorbell cameras, police videos, and business cameras
- Locate and interview witnesses
- Engage experts in accident reconstruction to uncover critical facts
- Download the “black box” speed and distance computer on the “at-fault” vehicle
- Impound the at-fault vehicle and preserve the vehicle
In every personal injury case, we investigate and preserve evidence. We locate and contact all available witnesses. We notify all necessary parties and insurance companies, notify all lienholders, gather and protect evidence and damages, prepare a settlement demand, negotiate an accident settlement, resolve liens, and distribute a fair settlement to you. Automobile injury and death cases require quick attention from an experienced personal injury law firm. Mike Burman is a personal injury attorney with the staff and financial resources needed to take on any insurance company. As your school bus accident lawyer, Mike Burman and his law firm will work quickly to answer all your questions and learn about your injuries-including those hard-to-find injuries that are oftentimes overlooked, such as brain injuries or labral tears in the hip.
Once evidence from the scene is secure, we use information technologies to transform this evidence into a visual representation of your accident to prove the harms and losses behind your serious injuries. Our in-house media service prepares professional digital charts, blowups, and videos while keeping costs under control. Our goal is to communicate your case so that anyone can “be sure” what happened and “understand” what should be done to right the wrong done to you. We work to provide the insurance adjuster with a thorough evaluation of your case so you achieve a full and fair out-of-court settlement. But if you must file suit, Burman Law will help prepare your case for trial. At trial, we will visualize your case to the jury, so the jury understands exactly what happened to you, and how your life changed. In this way, the jury has the power to come back with a verdict to help right the wrong done to you.
Insurance Company Tactics
Insurance companies and insurance adjusters use several tactics to deny claims and pay less than the real value of a personal injury or wrongful death claim in a truck accident case. Some of the most common insurance company tactics that we see are:
- Blaming accident victims for their own injuries
- Hiding evidence about the at-fault truck driver or insurance company
- Reducing the value of personal injury or wrongful death by misinterpreting medical records
- Denying the severe injuries are related to the crash
- Making low settlement offers for pre-existing or age-related factors in personal injury cases
- Delaying claims as long as possible until you must accept a low settlement offer
- Making lowball settlement offers to reduce the amount you think is reasonable
- Telling personal injury victims they do not need to hire a lawyer
How Is Burman Law Paid?
We are paid a percentage of the money recovered in your case. Many personal injury lawyers now charge a fee of 40% to begin your case. Our fee to begin a personal injury or wrongful death case truck accident case has been 1/3 for more than twenty-five plus years. We do not spend time or money on expensive Tv Ads, and we pass that savings on to you. There are no hidden disclaimers. We are transparent at all times.
With our free consultation and case evaluation services, you can confidentially discuss your semi-truck personal injury case with Mike Burman at no charge. Mike will help you understand your rights and give you a plan of action against the at-fault truck driver and trucking company. There is never any pressure. We put all fees and case expenses in writing. We will set you up with access to a free client portal so you can post anything you want 24/7/365. We respond to portal messages by the next business day, or sooner. And you can always contact Mike on his personal cell phone number which he will give you when you hire him to be your truck accident attorney. The staff at Burman Law average ten years of paralegal experience. Mike Burman has more than 25+ years of experience in personal injury and wrongful death involving truck accident cases, at-fault truck drivers, and careless trucking companies in Kentucky and Tennessee.
KENTUCKY LAW PROHIBITING CELL PHONE USE BY SCHOOL BUS DRIVER
§ 281A.205. Operation of school bus while using cellular telephone prohibited - Exceptions
(1) As used in this section, "cellular telephone" means a cellular, analog, wireless, or digital telephone.
(2) A person shall not operate a school bus, as defined in KRS 281A.010, on any highway while using a cellular telephone while the bus is in motion and transporting one (1) or more children, except for communications made to and from a central dispatch, school transportation department, or its equivalent when the bus is not equipped with a functioning two (2) way radio.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a person operating a school bus shall be allowed to use a cellular telephone in the event of a bona fide emergency.
KY Rev. Stat. 281A.205 Operation of school bus while using cellular telephone prohibited - Exceptions (Kentucky Revised Statutes (2022 Edition))
TENNESSEE LAW - 49-6-2110. Safe operation of buses
(a) A school bus shall at no time transport more pupils than the manufacturer's rated capacity for the bus, allowing no less than thirteen linear inches (13") of seat space for each pupil. The commissioner of education may, under rules and regulations prepared by the commissioner and approved by the state board of education, issue permits to a local board of education allowing the number of pupils transported on a school bus to exceed the limit prescribed in this subsection (a), up to, but not to exceed, twenty percent (20%) of the manufacturer's rated capacity. In no event shall a permit be issued authorizing the loading of a school bus beyond the limits of safety.
(b) A school bus transporting pupils to and from school or on school-sponsored activity trips shall not exceed posted speed limits or a maximum speed of thirty-five miles per hour (35 mph) on unpaved roadways.
Tenn. Code 49-6-2110 Safe operation of buses (Tennessee Code (2022 Edition))
